1. Field
This invention relates to amusement devices of the form which may be used by a child or adult to measure his skill and accuracy in marksmanship. More particularly, this invention is directed to a shooting gallery which may be used with toy guns of various configurations.
2. Statement of the Art
Various amusement-type devices directed for developing marksmanship skills in either children or adults are known. These devices are often called shooting galleries. Conventional constructions of such devices typically provide for a target, of some configuration, adapted to be shot at by a device which hurls missiles, pellets, or other projectiles.
Representative of such a conventional shooting gallery is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,614 (Suroff). This device includes a target which is mechanically associated with a pedal-driven drive mechanism. The user is provided with a seating means spacedly removed from the target and a gun which is mounted in communication with a support stand which retains the seating means in place. Upon the movement of the foot pedals by the user, the target is displaced, thereby providing the user with a plurality of moving targets at which he may direct a pellet or other projectile.
Various other amusement-type devices are adapted to present a target for hand-launched projectiles. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,216, a target game, adapted for placement on a horizontal surface, is disclosed. The target provides a structure having upwardly curved sides which terminate in a central opening. The user may direct a ball or similar type projectile up the curved sides with the objective of positioning the ball within the opening defined at the center of the target.
Another shooting gallery is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,210.
Common to all of the above-disclosed devices is the provision of a target at which a user may direct a projectile using either his hands or, alternatively, a gun of some configuration. Preferred shooting galleries are adapted to provide some visual indication of the user having correctly hit the target. Not only is this important to confirm to the user that he has, in fact, correctly aimed and fired his projectile, but, furthermore, some displacement of the target responsive to its having been struck by the projectile lends an added element of enjoyment to the device. While many of the aforementioned referenced devices provide for some indication of the user having actually struck the target, the instant invention is directed to a device which provides a visually distinctive displacement of the target and a mechanically facilitated means of returning the displaced targets to their original target orientation.